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Alain Prost is a Formula 1 car driver who was crowned champion four times. During his career, he was also the winningest race car driver in the sport’s history.

A native of France, Prost is the son of a French father and an Armenian mother. He got his start in racing through karting. He proved his abilities in the karting world by winning several championships and was able to move into the lower ranks of the auto racing world.

He entered Formula 1 as a member of the McLaren team, but eventually raced for Renault and Ferrari as well. He was a smart and precise driver with clean moves which earned him the nickname “The Professor.” The records he established for most Grand Prix wins and successively victorious years were only broken by Michael Schumacher almost a decade later.

Prost’s career was inexorably tied to that of Ayrton Senna, his fiercest racing rival and friend. Despite periods of outright acrimony and vitriol, both acknowledged the role the other had on him in making them race better, which led them to become two of the greatest race car drivers in history. Prost was a pallbearer for Senna after his friend crashed and died during a race.

Interesting fact

Prost was awarded the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest civilian award, by French President Francois Mitterrand.